What a name, elk-heart,
where prairie flats and cold basins of Lake Michigan meet
breath upon breath.
Some time ago an axle broke,
and gave up
along a hollowed rut of wagons trekking west.
What is America
but a clod of mud?
Wheels break, people stay on,
to talk of mud.
Wheels break people stay on
to tattle on, to stay on
a piece of earth,
muddy.
To this day they are there,
fixing other people’s wheels.
but a clod of mud?
Wheels break, people stay on,
to talk of mud.
Wheels break people stay on
to tattle on, to stay on
a piece of earth,
muddy.
To this day they are there,
fixing other people’s wheels.